6 BULLETIN 16 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



the sword, and so occupies correspondingly less space in this bulle- 

 tin. The sabers of each period in the National Museum collection 

 have in each case been described immediately following the swords 

 of that period. Usually the relationship betAveen these two types of 

 weapons is close, and the similarity in the general design and work- 

 manship of those belonging to the same period is in most cases 

 clearly apparent even to the novice. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY SWORD 



The history of the American military sword may logically be 

 considered under five periods. The swords belonging to each may 

 be regarded as forming both a historical and a technical unit. Dur- 

 ing a part of each of these five periods the United States was en- 

 gaged in a war of national importance, and interest naturally centers 

 about the swords used during these conflicts. 



(1) The first of these periods (1750 to 1800) extends from the 

 years preceding the outbreak of the Revolution to the close of the 

 eighteenth century. The swords of greatest interest during this half- 

 century were used during the War of the Revolution, and these 

 weapons were almost exclusively of foreign manufacture. They 

 may be distinguished from the American swords of subsequent pe- 

 riods by their foreign designs and by the absence of American em- 

 blems on their blades and hilts. Regardless of their foreign origin, 

 however, these swords may be termed American on account of their 

 association with the officers of the Continental Army. The Na- 

 tional ]\Iuseum collection includes a number of swords of this period 

 of exceptional historical interest. 



(2) The second period of the American military sword extends 

 from about 1800 to about 1830. The swords of greatest interest 

 during these three decades were those used during the War of 1812, 

 but owing to a lack of specific information concerning the exact 

 types of the swords of that period their identification is by no means 

 easy. Many of them bear eagle-head pommels, but this emblem was 

 used throughout the first quarter of the nineteenth century and can 

 not be ascribed solely to the weapons of the War of 1812. Subse- 

 quent to that conflict and prior to 1830 a number of new types of 

 American swords were developed, but none of these proved entirely 

 satisfactory to the military authorities. 



(3) During the third period under consideration (1830 to 1850), 

 the industry of sword making in the United States was established 

 on a firm basis, and about 1840 a number of new designs of military 

 swords were adopted. These changes were brought about by a 

 special study of sword making by the United States Board of Ord- 

 nance, and the results achieved represented a great improvement in 



